Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Second Language Learnerhood Among Cross-Cultural Field Workers, Thor Andrew Sawin

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation studies second language learnerhood (ideologies about why and how to acquire a target language) among American field workers of a multinational, faith-based development organization, "Love the World". This organizational ethnography is longitudinal, tracking how learnerhood changes across the first years of field service. It is also multi-sited, tracing learnerhood across an assemblage of interconnected nodes. Field workers' learnerhoods are shaped by two larger ideologies of language learning which interact across the nodes of and individual trajectories through Love the World. One ideology, rooted in academic tradition, developmental second language acquisition and modernist missiological theory, valorizes the individual learner …

Protracted Social Conflict: A Reconceptualization And Case Analysis, Melissa M. C. Beaudoin

Theses and Dissertations

What are the necessary components of protracted social conflict (PSC)? The works of Edward Azar have laid the foundation as to how PSC is approached in modern scholarship by identifying four necessary components: effective participation, security, distinctive identity, and social recognition of identity. However, do these components account for all of the descriptive and sustaining aspects of PSC? How are these components measured? Furthermore, testing and verification of these components has been limited. Of specific interest to this dissertation, then, is how the theory of PSC is organized and what its theoretically necessary components truly are. This dissertation reconceputalizes and …

Race, Class, Gender, And Linked Fate: A Cross-Sectional Analysis Of African American Political Partisanship, 1996 And 2004, Sherral Yolanda Brown-Guinyard

Theses and Dissertations

OBJECTIVE: To determine the predominance of linked fate and socio-demographic predictors race, class, and gender in the political partisanship of African Americans, and in the political partisanship of comparison racial and ethnic group populations.

METHODS: Data obtained from the 1996 National Black Election Study panel series were used to examine the political attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs of 824 adult African Americans. In addition, data collected for the 2004 National Politics Study examined 3,087 American adults from comparison racial and ethnic population groups. These groups included 706 African Americans, 868 White Non-Hispanics, 676 Hispanics, 466 Asians, and 371 Black Caribbeans. Multinomial …

Economic Agreements And Interstate Conflict: A Policy Substitution Model Of Coercion, Matthew Daniel-Marion Shaffer

Theses and Dissertations

Economic integration agreements - also called preferential trade agreements or regional trade agreements - have dramatically expanded in scope since World War II. While the proximate goal of economic integration is to increase commercial exchange between member states, there are strong reasons to believe agreements affect security relations as well. In particular, by increasing interdependence between member states through trade and investment, economic agreements increase the opportunity cost of coercion. However, they simultaneously marginalize commercial ties between agreement members and the outside world and exacerbate relative gains concerns through trade diversion. Hence I argue that while conflict between agreement members …

The Effect Of Emotionally Arousing Negative Images On Judgments About News Stories, Martin Daniel Smith-Rodden

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Two experiments investigated the effects of the presentations of photographic images (highly emotionally arousing/low arousal/no image) on people's attitudes after reading a news story. Experiment 1 presented a story and images about U.S. involvement in the Afghanistan War. Experiment 2 replicated the design with a story and images about African famine relief efforts. Consistent with predictions of the affect heuristic model of judgment formation, the addition of emotionally arousing pictures had an effect on people's support for the war in Afghanistan and their support for famine aid. Additionally, effects were observed in broader attitudes concerning participant's support of a militaristic …

Engaging The Homeless Through Technology And Information Literacy, Fannie Cox

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

The University of Louisville (U of L) Libraries' outreach mission is to encourage the development of information literacy (IL) and critical thinking in individuals. In March 2010, a community engagement partnership began between Ekstrom Library and the Wayside Christian Mission for the libraries to provide a basic computer skills class to its clients (referred to as students), many of whom had never used a computer. Now in its fourth iteration, the class named Wayside 100 provides students an opportunity to develop skills that may assist them with increasing their educational level, succeeding in college, as well as overcoming homelessness.

Central Asia, The Shanghai Cooperation Organization, And American Foreign Policy : From Indifference To Engagement., Charles E. Ziegler

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

This paper examines U.S. engagement in Central Asia over the past two decades, with specific reference to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. While alarmist voices occasionally warn of the threat to American interests from China and Russia through the SCO, the organization’s influence appears limited. Washington has engaged it only sporadically, preferring to conduct relations bilaterally with the Central Asian states.

Rethinking Critical Mass In The Federal Appellate Courts., Laura Moyer

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

This article draws from critical mass studies of gender in other political institutions to inform an application to the US Courts of Appeals. The results demonstrate the utility of considering court-level aspects of diversity. As mixed-sex panels become more common within a circuit, both male and female judges increasingly support plaintiffs in civil rights claims, though the magnitude of the effect is larger for women. The presence of a female chief judge is also positively associated with pro-plaintiff decisions by men and women in sex discrimination cases.

A Study On The Effects Of Tertiary Education On Open Source Information Gathering Skills, Sara T.K. Cunow

Theses : Honours

Since the introduction of the World Wide Web (WWW), a large amount of information has become available and accessible to anyone with an Internet connection. Where in the past, the art of the intelligence profession was finding scarce information, currently information gathering is more focused on sorting relevant information from the available abundance. The purpose of the current study was to gain a better understanding of how information is gathered on the Web by potential intelligence analysts. Although the WWW is used by many people to search for information daily, relatively little research exists on how this source should be …

Arrighi On Sino-Sudanese Relations : Trade, Investment And Diplomacy In The Twenty-First Century, Benjamin A. Hale

Theses : Honours

This research project will investigate the increasingly complex and dynamic relationship between China and Sudan from 1995 to the present within the context of Giovanni Arrighi’s understandings of World Systems Theory. In this project I will examine how the relationship between China and Sudan has manifested through trade, investment, and diplomacy since 1995. Further, this dissertation will situate Sino-Sudanese relations within the context of Giovanni Arrighi’s theories regarding the roles of China and Africa within the current world-system. As such, this study will ask how the relationship between China and Sudan reflects Arrighi’s arguments concerning coreperiphery relations, declining US hegemony, …

The Effect Of Background Music On Emotional Processing : Evaluation Using A Dot Probe Paradigm, Haans Drieberg

Theses : Honours

Music plays an important role in all of the world's cultures, and background music is an ever-present phenomenon. Despite this, few studies have formally addressed whether background music influences the way people think. The aim of this study was to discover whether the presence of background music can influence cognition. Specifically, the differential effects of music rated as being positive (inducing happy emotions) and negative (inducing anxiety) on a person's allocation of attention was investigated. A dot probe task with positive and negative word pairings, matched for length and frequency was used in order to test the hypotheses that the …

Exploring Wellbeing In Older Male Farmers In Western Australia, Jessica L. Mckee

Theses : Honours

In the context of an ageing population it has become increasingly important to identify the determinants of wellbeing in older adulthood. A review of the literature relevant to wellbeing and strengths relevant to older male farmers in Australia was conducted. This body of knowledge was identified to be sparse. Existing literature on farming primarily had a deficits focus, and only a small number of qualitative studies were specific to older male farmers. Four broad, overlapping areas representing the meaning of wellbeing were identified as potentially important: farming work; connectedness; the land; health and wellbeing. The inter-connected nature of farming life …

Searching For Health Information On The Internet : The Experiences Of Western Australian Adolescents, Lee-Anne Martins

Theses : Honours

Adolescents readily engage in online entertainment pursuits, however, it is their online social activities and health information searches that encourage psychosocial development and influence identity formation and autonomy. Considerable research has been completed on various aspects of adolescents’ encounters with online health information (for example, see Percheski & Hargittai, 2011), yet minimal research has been conducted using Australian adolescents. This study extends existing research utilising Western Australian adolescents who have used the Internet to obtain health information. The areas explored include how Western Australian adolescents search for online health information, by means of which devices, and their experiences of using …

Fathers At Birth : Women's Experiences Of Their Partner's Presence During Childbirth, Sarah Dlugosz

Theses : Honours

Childbirth is an ordeal of nature. It is an experience that elicits a range of emotions for the labouring woman; recognition of which has highlighted women’s needs for psychological support during the birth process. Research has shown that a mother’s perception of a positive birth is influenced by how supported she feels throughout her experience. In Australia it is common practice for the labouring woman’s partner to be her main support person; however research into women’s experiences of this phenomenon is scarce. This research aimed to explore the lived experiences of women in this context, asking the question “what meaning …

The Life Individual Resilience Scale And Cognitive Reflection Test : Predictive Utility In Special Forces Selection, Anthony Moffitt

Theses : Honours

The use of psychometric testing by the military in the screening and selection of its personnel has played a significant role in test development (Aiken, 1997). Several studies have demonstrated the utility of such tests to identify and select elite Special Forces personnel specifically for their employment in complex and dangerous environments (Picano, Roland, Williams, & Rollins, 2006). Research of additional discrete personal attributes beyond traditional cognitive ability and personality traits has inspired studies into the measurement of specific aspects of performance, including perseverance, hardiness and decision-making (e.g., Beal, 2010; Temby & Drobnjak, 2010). However, the empirical evidence for these …

Improving Self-Esteem Through Art For Incarcerated Youth, April Murphy, Jeff Beaty, James Minnick

Social Work Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Assessment Of Carbon Storage And Biomass On Minelands Reclaimed To Grassland Environments Using Landsat Spectral Indices, Tim Warner

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

This study investigated carbon (C) storage and biomass in grasslands of West Virginia reclaimed surface minesites. Mine-related disturbance and subsequent reclamation may be an important component of C cycling. Biomass and C storage generally increased for the first five years after reclamation, but then declined, suggesting a nonlinear pattern to vegetation recovery. Three 2007 Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper and Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus images were used to assess the potential to predict biomass from raw red and near infrared radiance, the tasseled cap transformation (TC), and four vegetation indices [normalized difference vegetation index, enhanced vegetation index (EVI), triangular …

Asymmetries In English Vowel Perception Mirror Compression Effects, Jonah Katz

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

A series of vowel-identification experiments using gated consonant stimuli shows that English listeners are capable of recovering the vocalic context in which a consonant appears from information contained in the consonant alone. This is true for most consonants tested, including liquids, nasals, and stops in onset and coda position. Positional asymmetries in vowel sensitivity go in opposite directions for liquids (coda sensitivity > onset) and stops (onset > coda). Nasals pattern with liquids in terms of vowel sensitivity from consonant steady states alone, but pattern more closely with stops when portions outside the steady-state are taken into account. It is argued that …

The Patent System In Pre-1989 Czechoslovakia, Marketa Trimble

Scholarly Works

The chapter analyzes patent law in Czechoslovakia in the period from 1945 until the end of communist rule in 1989. In addition to reviewing the legislative development of patent law – the laws on the books – the chapter explains the law in action, which includes the application of the law in practice and the attitudes of Czechoslovak society toward inventive activities and patenting. The chapter shows that post-1945 Czechoslovak patent law drew on a highly developed pre-1940 Czechoslovak patent law and practice that was based on the Austrian patent law inherited by Czechoslovakia in 1918 when it split from …

Fp-13-10 Women Who Gave Birth Within The Past 12 Months, 2011, Julissa Cruz

National Center for Family and Marriage Research Family Profiles

No abstract provided.

Fp-13-03 Grandchildren: Living In A Grandparent-Headed Household, Breana Wilson

National Center for Family and Marriage Research Family Profiles

No abstract provided.

You Can't Put Old Wine In New Bottles: The Effect Of Newcomers On Coordination In Groups, Matthew Mccarter, Roman M. Sheremeta

Business Faculty Articles and Research

A common finding in social sciences is that member change hinders group functioning and performance. However, questions remain as to why member change negatively affects group performance and what are some ways to alleviate the negative effects of member change on performance? To answer these questions we conduct an experiment in which we investigate the effect of newcomers on a group's ability to coordinate efficiently. Participants play a coordination game in a four-person group for the first part of the experiment, and then two members of the group are replaced with new participants, and the newly formed group plays the …

Longitudinal Analysis Of Perceived Body Image, Sport Commitment, Burnout, And Athletic Injury, Erik Chaouch

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Injury is a risk that all athletes face while participating in sport. How injuries affect athletes perceived body image, sport commitment levels, and burnout levels are not yet fully understood. Athletes are aware of what the media portrays an athlete as, aware of what peers think an athlete should look like, and even have their own pre-conceived notions as to what an athlete’s body should look like. Many athletes perceive their bodies to be appropriate for their sport, yet there is dissatisfaction with their own bodies in the context of what is socially considered to be attractive. A distorted body …

Bird Use Of Heterogeneous Native Prairie Biofuel Production Plots, Jarrett D. Pfrimmer

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Changing land use practices and agricultural intensification have driven the loss of >90% of native grassland habitats in the Midwestern U.S.A. Consequently, grassland birds have declined more drastically than any other North American guild. Current biofuel production systems in the Midwest rely on high input monoculture crops that provide little habitat value to most grassland birds. The Tallgrass Prairie Center at the University of Northern Iowa is exploring the feasibility of growing and harvesting diverse mixes of native prairie vegetation for use as a sustainable biofuel in a manner that also provides high quality bird habitat. In 2009, 48 research …

Strengths And Limitations Of Qualitative Approaches To Research In Occupational Health Psychology, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Joseph J. Mazzola

Publications and Research

Like all research methods, qualitative methods have strengths and limitations. This chapter describes seven strengths and five limitations. With an understanding of their strengths and limitations and how to minimize and/or balance them, occupational health psychology (OHP) researchers can benefit from qualitative methods. It is important to understand that qualitative findings do not establish generalizable cause-effect relations. However, qualitative methods can help an OHP researcher develop a theory of causality and derive hypotheses related to the theory and, thus, motivate quantitatively organized research designed to test the hypotheses. The challenge for the OHP researcher is to be mindful of what …

International Organizations, Free Trade And Environmental Citizenship: Mexico And Chile In Comparative Perspective, Sherrie Baver

Publications and Research

This paper focuses on the potential of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and specific International Organizations (IOs) to promote democratic and effective environmental governance. FTAs are often cited in the political science literature for their negative impacts; yet, they are central to the present stage of economic globalization. Given that U.S. FTAs have environmental requirements as do accession agreements to developed country IOs (e.g. OECD), they remain under-explored institutions providing space for activists to expand environmental citizenship. The specific research question explored here is how might activists use these institutions to promote procedural environmental rights to information, participation, and justice, collectively …

Conjuring The Close From Afar A Border-Crossing Tale Of Vieques’ Activism And Obama-Empire, Víctor M. Torres-Vélez, Sarah Molinari, Katharine Lawrence

Publications and Research

After more than 60 years of military occupation, 30 of these under violent military practices, a social movement forced the U.S. Navy from the island of Vieques. This victory would not have been possible without the highly effective organization of civil disobedience carried out on the island. But the sum total of the actions that eventually forced out the U.S. Navy, neither happened exclusively within the boundaries of Vieques, nor was carried out by Viequense residents alone. In this article we want to suggest that this amazing victory—a testament of people’s will in the face of globalization—is also a border- …

It's A Juggling Act: An Examination Of Work-School Conflict, Danielle Barbara Stuck

Honors Program Theses

Working while enrolled in college has become increasingly prominent, yet its effects on school outcomes and student well-being are not yet understood. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of individual differences and nuances in the school and work domains to obtain a more precise model of Work-School Conflict [WSC]. Data were collected from 401 undergraduate and graduate students from the University of Northern Iowa and analyzed using hierarchical (blocked) linear regression analyses. While job flexibility negatively predicted WSC, job permeability interacted with number of hours worked off-campus and workload, differentially predicting WSC; while permeability decreased WSC …

Portrayal Of Agriculture In Children's Literature: Contemporary Stories In Picture Books, Traditional Tales, And Nonfiction, Kathryn S. Koller

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this research was to analyze the representations of modern American farming in traditional tales in picture book format, storybooks with contemporary settings, and non-fiction literature to assess how accurately agriculture information is provided to children. This project will contribute to the knowledge base about how well children’s books are compensating for the lack of first-hand experience. The four hypothesizes studied were: 1. Ninety percent of storybooks with contemporary settings will depict a male in the role of farmer. 2. One hundred percent of traditional literature in picture book format will depict a farmer wearing bib overalls, straw …

Teacher Perceptions Of Graphic Novels, Katherine Block

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this research study is to ascertain classroom teachers’ dispositions toward graphic novels as quality literature and the rationale for their beliefs and attitudes. Of particular interest in this study is how teacher dispositions toward graphic novels may differ across teacher age groups. In conducting research, a survey was given to a variety of classroom teachers. These participants are language arts teachers for grades three through eight and range in age from 20 to 60 years. The researcher recorded the frequencies and percentages of responses, looking for teachers’ perceptions of graphic novels, the origin of these perceptions, and …